Archive for October, 2009

Before we get to the knitting, I’d like to show you my DDs in their new favorite hang-out.

And, just how high is that?

They’ve gotten a few scrapes and scratches, but declare the tree to be “awesome”!

On to the knitting.

As you may recall, I finished the vest for Cast On’s spring 2010 issue, just in time to join a knitalong hosted by Schoolhouse Press. The first design was a neck-scarf in the Icelandic style.

In the beginning, you can see the pink diamond shapes, above the green provisional cast-on.

But as you go along, the decreases fold the piece up the middle and in at the sides, making the diamonds look like grid squares.

When the 2 sides collapse together at top-center, you carefully decrease/graft the final stitches together, and then pick up the cast-on to begin the border.

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The border gets pretty frilly toward the end.

I switched to a contrasting color midway through.

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The Kidsilk Haze yarn knit up like a cloud on 4.5 mm needles (US size 7).

The scarf is light and, I think, oh so lovely! Thank you Marilyn van Keppel and Meg Swansen and all at Schoolhouse Press!

Isn’t that a lovely, drapery, wispy thing?!

I’m planning to give it to my SIL for Christmas. She loves pink.

While I was working on the scarf, I finished a 3-color spiral cap. I used my basic pattern (Ravelry link), but changed the cast-on to Judy’s Magic and began the other 2 colors right away. I like that better (– need to update the pattern soon!)

3-Greens Cap

Once that was done, and once I finished the scarf, I went a bit nuts starting Too Many Things.

I got hold of myself!

The green and white circlet to the left, I’ve pulled off the needles and laid aside for later. (a cap to match the “Peek through the Windows” Cast On vest)

The gold lace cap, with the 2 green possible-yarns, I’ve returned to the get-around-to-it stack. (I hope to write up the pattern.)

The blue is in that same stack. (potential swatch for potential sweater)

The dark multi has progressed to half a hat, and moving quickly. This is the first I’ve used Wisdom Yarns’ “Skye” bulky; it feels pretty good.

The dark Lamb’s Pride is way-way to the back of my mind, for one-day some-day nice color.

The pink is another Cast On submission in-the-making that I don’t want to show yet. . . . The Cascade “Venezia” suits it well, I think.

Meanwhile, the second project in the Schoolhouse Press knitalong was posted on Wednesday this week. Faroese footlets/slippers.

Another design in a Scandinavian style by Marilyn van Keppel: first Iceland, now the Faroe Islands! One more to go after this: modular footies (begins 2 November, 2009).

I’m finding more slow going than the lace, and not as much chatter in the Yahoo group.

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Today, I’ve done some knitterly playing around. Two swatches.

One, of some stitch patterns used by designers in the book, 101 Designer One-Skein Wonders.

The lower pattern was a simple lattice, but the upper pattern involved twisted-st garter stitch, an ususual bind-off that I had to see to understand, and columns of dropped stitches. Here’s a series of photos to show the process.

Every 4th stitch left live on needle during BO

Pull needle out of remaining stitches

Drop down the freed-up stitches, one at a time.

All stitch-columns now dropped. See the ladders.

Blocking

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Widens out substantially!

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In the second swatch of the day, I tried to adapt the neck-scarf’s lace pattern-stitch to a rectangle. After several false starts, I figured that out to my satisfaction, and added on Marilyn van Keppel’s border at the top. Perhaps this idea could become a sister-scarf to the triangle. (I wonder how my other SIL feels about pink/purple? She usually wears black and other “strong” colors. . . .)

Busy, busy!

I also posted some new videos to YouTube. One on washing woolen handknits, especially intended for “my” pipers with special socks, and one (in 2 parts) demonstrating a tubular bind off for circular 2×2 ribbing. (I’ll post the former here — not sure if it’ll link or embed.)

My brain finally found a “groove” on Friday midday; when I tried to get back to it in the evening, the “groove” was gone and I found the struggle SO frustrating. Estimating fit is the area of knitting with which I am least comfortable.

What remains for this vest pattern project is only finalizing the schematic. DH drew me one using Mathematica (don’t ask me how. . . .); I need to add inches and centimeters for the blocked vest in each size.

I started with widths, adding/subtracting whole multiples of the slip-stitch pattern symmetrically about the center-front and center-back. I can add/subtract neck-width (increments of 8 stitches for front, plus 8 for back), shoulder-width (8 sts front and 8 back), and armhole width (4 sts each side). Those are sizable width-changes, so I only altered one area each time I sized up or down. For instance, going from 8/9 (model size) to 6/7, I kept the same neck and underarms, but narrowed the shoulders; from 8/9 up to 10, I widened the armholes. It all worked out into 5 sizes: 18 months/2 years to 10 years. Only 3 sizes are required by the publisher.

Lengthwise, I can add/subtract whole (4 rows/rounds) pattern-repeats below the underarm to add overall body-length, between underarm and neck-front (armhole depth), and along sides of the neck (neck-drop).

It’s not the first time I’ve started a lace project; the last one I frogged and did not enjoy at all. This time is different. Perhaps it’s the timing, or perhaps it’s that this yarn is not slippery and “out of control”-feeling. Either way, when I think knitting, this is currently the project I want most to pick up.

I do also have a relatively mindless hat on the needles. (Lace takes lots of concentration.)

3 strands of related greens: one furry, one multi, one heather; round & round like a barber-pole, begun from a sock-type “Judy’s Magic CO” of 6 or 8 stitches at the top. Very soft.

Eventually, I’ll get back to the red baby hat, the entrelac shawl, the gansey sampler, et al, but right now these are sufficient for me.

As of last night, the knitting part of this project is (finally) finished! Hurray!!!

Pre-blocking, with ruler for scale (and helper)

Currently, the vest is drying from immersion-blocking (i.e., I washed it in the sink). The green yarn bled horribly — not noticeable with swatch, so I hadn’t expected it — but so far it seems to be drying OK, with no staining of the cream yarn.

Blocking, with ruler

Everything is nice and flat and even.

Perhaps you will notice that it has stretched vertically somewhat with wetting.

Here is the unblocked version on my model (and eventual recipient, I hope). A little wide, but I think the blocking will improve this.

Unblocked vest on model, with yo-yo

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Now . . . to whip the written pattern into shape — a non-trivial task! (I dreamt of final exams and term papers last night! Poor dream-me couldn’t figure out what forgotten class(es) they might be for!)

[FYI: “grading” is where you cook up numbers for several other sizes.]